Rheinmetall's LUNA NG Drone Receives Provisional Airworthiness Certificate
Rheinmetall's LUNA NG reconnaissance system has achieved provisional airworthiness certification, allowing its use by the German Armed Forces for training and testing purposes.
German technology firm Rheinmetall has secured a provisional airworthiness certificate for its LUNA NG unmanned reconnaissance system. The approval, granted by the German Armed Forces Aviation Authority (LufABw), marks a significant step towards full type certification.
The provisional certification enables the European military drone to integrate into regular, restricted airspace. Unlike comparable systems, LUNA NG meets civil aviation safety standards, overcoming the restriction to purely military areas. Compliance with stringent aviation test procedures paves the way for operations over densely populated European territories.
System maturity has been demonstrated through approximately 150 flights and 200 flight hours conducted under civil operating licenses. Concurrently, the first pilots and verifiers from the German Armed Forces have been trained on the LUNA NG, ensuring qualified personnel are available for independent training and testing operations.
The German Armed Forces will deploy the system as 'HUSAR' (Highly Efficient Unmanned System for Medium-Range Reconnaissance). Designed for sustained reconnaissance, classification, and real-time object detection, LUNA NG boasts a flight time exceeding 12 hours for long-range capabilities. Work on achieving full type certification is ongoing.